London police yesterday braced for their busiest day in years, when tens of thousands of protesters were expected to attend the latest rally staged by far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
The Metropolitan Police said it would deploy 4,000 officers — alongside horses, dogs, drones and helicopters — to manage the march and a counter-demonstration merged with a pro-Palestinian protest, as well as the FA Cup final.
The police has imposed various conditions on the two rallies, over their routes and timings, in a bid to keep rival attendees apart.
Photo: Reuters
The force warned it would adopt “a zero-tolerance approach.” That includes for the first time making organizers legally responsible for ensuring invited speakers do not break hate speech laws.
On the eve of the demonstrations, Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned: “Anyone who sets out to wreak havoc on our streets, to intimidate or threaten anyone... can expect to face the full force of the law.”
Starmer said the organizers of the far-right rally were “peddling hatred and division,” and that their goal “is to convince people that Britain’s problems are caused by those living alongside them.”
“But that is not the Britain that I know,” he said.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a former football hooligan turned anti-Islam activist whose profile has soared over the past few years, in particular online.
In September last year, he drew up to 150,000 people into central London for a similarly themed rally proclaiming “national unity, free speech and Christian values.”
X owner Elon Musk addressed that event, which shocked mainstream UK for its scale and raw messaging, as well as clashes between some participants and police which injured dozens of officers.
Robinson’s growing appeal comes amid public anger over tens of thousands of migrants crossing the English Channel each year in small boats, wider immigration policies, alleged free speech curbs and other issues.
The police estimates about 50,000 of his supporters would attend, with 30,000 people expected at the rival rally marking Nakba Day, commemorating the 1948 displacement of Palestinians during the creation of Israel.
The Stand Up to Racism group has combined its anti-fascism march with the Nakba Day event.
Robinson has urged his attendees not to wear masks or drink excessive alcohol, and to be “peaceful and courteous.”
“The establishment has thrown everything in the way of us as we fight to Unite The Kingdom and the West,” he said, predicting “the biggest patriotic rally to grace this planet.”
Starmer’s office said he recognized that the majority were set to protest peacefully as “law-abiding citizens,” but cautioned a minority were “violent thugs.”
Police also voiced fears about football hooligan groups which have previously supported Robinson showing up.
Matthew Feldman, a leading academic expert on far-right extremism at Liverpool Hope University, said it was a “certainty” that some “hotheads” would attend.
“The question is how the internal stewards deal with those people, and how the police deal with the march as a whole,” Feldman said.
The police said live facial recognition would be used during a protest for the first time.
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